On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:53:05 -0800 (PST),
Quoted post said:Quoted message said:I fear that many posters on RBT are unaware of the traffic laws:
http://books.google.com/books?id=GzYCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=...
_I_ certainly didn't know that north-south traffic has the right of
way, that the straight-line speed limit is 8 mph, that we're supposed
to slow to 3 mph when cornering, or that there's no coasting allowed
south of 125th Street.
Thank heavens the New York Athletic Club reminded its members of the
rules of the road passed in 1897!
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
I wonder if coasting on the Brooklyn Bridge was allowed. Feet on the
fork mounted pegs I assume.
Joseph
Dear Joseph,
No! Emphatically no! Coasting is wrong, whether on bridges or in
parks. The offence was pursued with the full majesty of the law even
earlier in 1895:
"The Duke of Marlborough, whose wedding with Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt
is arranged for next month, was arrested yesterday, while cycling in
Central Park. He violated a Park ordinance by 'coasting' down the hill
near McGown's Pass."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9503E0D8113DE433A2575AC1A9669D94649ED7CF
In order to escape justice, the vile Duke, caught in the very act,
pled his title, his impending wedding, and finally his foreign
ignorance of our traffic laws.
I assume that Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt, poor woman, came to her senses
and broke off her engagement after her betrothed was exposed to the
public as an unrepentant coaster.
Below is a dramatic photograph of the kind of reckless behavior that
only sullies cycling's reputation. On the back, the name "L. Brunelle"
appears, the patriarch of a photography clan that still specializes in
shocking cycling documentaries.
http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1890%27s+man+on+bike%2Ejpg
Egad, sir, have you no shame? Look at you, flaunting your filthy heels
on the fork pegs! The proper place for the feet is on the pedals at
all times.
Some day, God willing, bicyclists shall be sold expensive shoes that
firmly attach to special pedals, and this coasting nightmare will end.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel